


CWJBHN (Can We Just Be Happy Now)

by Samessin



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crimes & Criminals, F/F, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poison, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Smut, Street Bending, Trigger Warnings, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:01:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25498771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samessin/pseuds/Samessin
Summary: Korra and Asami are back from their vacation in the Spirit World but as usual there is no rest for Team Avatar. A new threat looms and they have their gold colored eyes fixed on Asami.*Story is slight AU
Relationships: Bolin/Opal (Avatar), Korra/Asami Sato, Lin Beifong/Kya (Avatar)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 87





	1. Ch.1- Normalcy

**Author's Note:**

> -Thoughts will be in Italic.  
> -There will be parts that could be triggering but I will let you know way ahead of time and will put a censored version you can skip to at the end of a chapter. 
> 
> Well…here goes nothing. I hope you like it.

**_Chapter 1_ **

Yet another battle.

Again the city was scrambling to find normalcy.

Republic City had been through so much the last few years. Equalists, corruption, Vaatu, spirts joining humans, Kuvira’s invasion. And now Tokuga and the gangs are trying to take advantage of the wake of chaos Kuvira left behind

Her life would never be normal. I guess watching your mom get murdered and your dad obliterated in front of you will take that away from a person. That normal the rest of the city was searching for....she never had it.

It was strangely both freeing and devastating.

While she watched the entire city claw their way to a semblance of what their lives looked like before Kuvira...she just did what she always did—she adapted.

She reached her hand out, grasping the overly ornate looking knob she slowly swung open the massive front door.

No better reminder of her need to adapt than walking into this giant monstrosity atop the tallest hill overlooking the city center— her family home.

Unfortunately, any positive memories tying it to her--her to it--were harder and harder to dig out of the recesses of her mind these days.

Her mom's death in this very house seemed to echo through time. The smell of smoke or heat of fire still sent shivers up her spine.

Her father's corruption happened right under her feet; under her very nose. Something she still blamed herself for no matter how many times she told herself she wasn't her fathers keeper.

She stepped into the florid foyer, stopping to take in the entryway. A tickle wiggled its way up her throat forcing out a tiny cough.

_Why did I tell Korra I was fine coming here alone? She wanted to come with me. Why didn’t I let her? In what world will I ever be okay coming here. Stupid! I hate it here. I could have waited until her meeting with Lin was over but nooooo I have to be stubborn._

These walls haunted her.

This was the first time she has set foot here in a long while and she was remembering exactly why that was.

Her father—she lost him twice. His death was still fresh in her mind and it added an additional sting to the dwelling. 

A warm tear trailed down her cheek thinking back to the last few weeks.

She’s had some low lows lately like losing her dad but she's also had some incredible highs.

It all started after Varrick and Zhu Li’s wedding. She and Korra decided to be spontaneous and sneak off to the spirit world for a much needed vacation—just the two of them.

Their trip together was amazing and enlightening and thrilling and...everything she ever wanted.

They spent their days relaxing under massive spirit mushrooms. They swam in a spirit river that ended up taking them right to Iroh where they drank tea and played Pai-Sho. They laid in fields of spirit flowers holding hands. Something Asami enjoyed so much.

Korra made the entire experience something pulled out of a dream or maybe one of those romance novels Opal always tried to get her to read. She smiled to herself as she remembered the feeling of her heart pounding in her chest as they told each other how they felt. 

Nothing changed after they poured their feelings out to each other...something she was most worried about...falling in love with your best friend...there wasn’t really a rule book for that. She was so happy to find that the only thing that changed was the increased amount of touches and cuddles between them and, of course, Asami’s new favorite thing—kissing Korra.

She brought her hands to her chest as the warmth of her thoughts flowed through her.

Her and Korra. Her Korra.

She doesn’t even really remember when she started having feelings of more than friendship for the Avatar. 

If she was truly being honest with herself she was always attracted to Korra. Even Toph could see how physically attractive Korra is and she’s blind. But more than her physical features, she fell in love with Korra’s spirit...and she didn’t mean Raava.

Maybe it was those laps around her racetrack years ago that hooked her. The look of pure joy on Korra’s face as she tasted the adrenaline and freedom as they sped down the asphalt. 

She had always been raised to be poised-docile-ladylike and she would find herself slipping out of that persona which was intricately crafted for her more often than her father probably liked. But she didn’t want to be any of those things and it seemed like her and Korra had that in common.

Maybe it was those feelings of jealousy over Mako liking Korra. She conducted a great deal of introspection when she found herself unable to sleep. Often she would welcome the sun as it rose in the morning on her balcony as she looked down on the park she made for Korra. It was something that made her feel closer to her and it made her feel less alone. Sometime one of those nights she realized that those feelings were never because she wanted to be with him-it was because she wanted to be with Korra. She was envious of Mako.

She believed...hoped...that those feelings would dissipate with the passing of time but instead it made her them increase exponentially. 

She wanted to be there to help Korra. It practically broke her when she saw the battered state her best friend was in after Zaheer but even though she offered to go with her to the South she also knew Korra was headstrong, a quality she admired in her. Korra wanted to do it alone. So instead she made sure she sent at least one letter a week to her injured friend in hopes to make it feel like she was right there with her.

Maybe it was in those letters she fell in love with her. She was the only one that secretly received communications back from their friend. Another thing that brought her to her balcony at night...what that meant to Korra...what that meant to her...what that meant for both of them. 

Or maybe it was Korra, just Korra. She is so headstrong, courageous, independent, selfless, loyal and so many more adjectives in spite of everything she’s been through.

And damn she is gorgeous. Her dark skin, so soft even after all the battles she has seen. Korra’s crystal blue eyes that could pull you in with one glance and have you drowning in their depths within seconds of looking into them.

_The quicker I’m done here the sooner I can be back with her. Today was not fun. My body hurts. I’m tired. I just want Korra._

She wrapped her arms around her middle as if holding herself together trying not to give into the exhaustion threatening to envelop her whole.

Making her way up the stairs toward her room she passed by her father's office and bedroom as quickly as she could before any more memories decided to rear their ugly heads.

Entering her old bedroom she immediately went to task shoving clothing into her backpack.

Glancing up as she moved from one drawer to the next she noticed a picture tucked into the corner of the mirror that was attached to her dresser.

She smiled at the memory. 

It was taken after one of the Fire Ferrets last games of the season. The team had just gotten their groove back after some internal troubles. Mako, Bolin, Korra were all dressed in their pro-bending gear and she was repping a Fire Ferrets jersey herself. They all had their arms wrapped around one another laughing their heads off. If she’s remembering correctly Bolin had just told a joke about Mako that had them all rolling.

Life was so much simpler then.

But, all-in-all, she wouldn’t trade what she had today. 

She had a family. 

Maybe not by blood but in every other way. 

She had the airbending family who took her in and treated her as if she always belonged. Even when Korra was away Pema would have her come to the island for family dinner once a week. Something she cherished. It was one of the things that prevented her from becoming a depressed workaholic. Pema was never shy about making sure she was taking care of herself. 

Her friends were a family of all their own. She would go to the edges of the earth for them and they would do the same for her. Bolin was like a brother and would never hesitate to make her laugh. Mako, while their relationship started out complicated, like Bolin, he was the protective brother she never had. Even though she didn’t see the boys as much as she would have liked while Korra was South she gained a best friend in Opal. 

The airbender from Zaofu held a special place in her heart. They held each other up and told each other everything. Asami was so alone after Korra left and not long after Bolin left to help Kuvira. Leaving them both in need of companionship. They both gravitated toward the other to find comfort in their loneliness. 

She also had Korra...someone that was the other half of her soul. Even after just a short time of them officially being an item, she knew her feelings for Korra ran deep--they loved each other. They both decided those unwritten rules of not saying “I love you” so early in a relationship didn’t apply to them because it was as if they were dating, at least emotionally, even when Korra was on the other side of the earth.

_This photo is definitely coming with me_ , as she gently put it in her bag.

Her and Korra didn’t miss an opportunity to catch up on all the time they were physically separated while in the spirit world. While they were disappointed in having to return to the ‘real world’ eventually they looked forward to continuing making up for lost time when they got back to Republic City.

Unfortunately, in true Team Avatar fashion, the bliss was interrupted as soon as they set foot back on solid ground.

Of course, they both expected tons of work when they got back to the city but never this magnitude.

They were immediately greeted by hundreds of desperate people who were displaced from their homes because of the damage Kuvira caused. A makeshift refugee camp was located just outside the perimeter of the portal. You could see tents as far as your eyes could see.

Never ones to shy away from a challenge, they each got to work. 

Korra began picking up people’s spirits and taking on the task of advocating to Raiko on behalf of the people. Like usual there was suffering and he didn’t want to do anything but blame her instead of making sure the people got what they needed.

She started designing housing for the displaced communities. She even put up a lot of the funds herself to get Raiko to go along with the program. It didn’t take long for her, with the help of Zhu Lee and Verrick, to begin construction. 

_All was going as well as could be too until...well until it wasn’t._

_Tokuga—gah, what a vile man!_

If a man is what you could still call him after his unfortunate run-in with the dragon-eel spirit that was trying to protect the spirit portal he was attacking. The spirit passed through him during the fight which left him permanently disfigured. 

He was part of a group of hired muscle financed by a wealthy businessman named Wonyong Keum. Who lovingly wanted to build an amusement park on the very site of the spirit portal.

_Did they really think Korra was going to let that happen! She's the Avatar for spirits sake..._

Except, when it came to Tokuga, ambition was the name of his game and he had an excess of it. 

Being a no-name, low-level, gang member was not enough for him—it would never be enough-he wanted more...much more. And if it wasn’t going to be given to him freely it was going to be taken. 

This led him to use a combination of heinous deeds to overthrow the head of the Triple Threat Triad. She wasn’t going to cry over that loss per se but if Kuvira taking over the Earth Kingdom after the fall of the queen sometimes destruction followed destabilizing power structures. 

_You would think that would be enough for him—not even close._

He wanted power-all of it. He wanted respect. He wanted women, he wanted money. Everything Keum had. He wanted it all.

So he took it. 

He overthrew Keum, stole a large amount of Earth Empire weaponry left over from the battle against Kuvira, and threw Republic City into even more turmoil in an attempted takeover within days.

She drew in a breath remembering back to earlier. Feeling a slight twinge in her chest as she did so.

**_FLASHBACK_ **

She was working at the construction site just before she was supposed to get ready for a date with Korra. Instead, Tokuga ambushed her in her trailer. She was kidnapped alongside Keum and held hostage as leverage against the city. Originally, she was curious, why her? She had money and friends in high places but it wasn’t like her and Raiko were best buds. 

After spending a night in a holding cell in some industrial building that must have survived Kuvira’s mech, she had her answer. He forced her to build and equip a weapon to a Future Industries airship that would ultimately deploy a gas underneath it. 

His target? She didn’t know.

The gasses effects? She had no idea.

That was too many unknowns for her. 

What she did know was that she wasn’t going to stand around and let people get hurt.

Fortunately, things turned around when Tokuga underestimated her, something she was used to but like always she used it to her advantage.

She built his weapon in fake compliance but only because he threatened to kill Keum and while he was a greedy man that didn’t mean she wanted him dead nor his death on her conscience.

But unbeknownst to Tokuga the gas that he wanted to deploy below the airship was set up to release in the cockpit.

Unfortunately for her, she did not expect Tokuga to bring them along for the ride. 

While traveling to the prospective ‘drop site’ she saw the beautiful glow of the spirit portal in front of them-so close to her yet so far. But, hey, if this was how she was going to go at least the view was as if she was looking directly into her girlfriends eyes-this was Korra’s creation. This wouldn’t be that bad of a way to go. At least it wasn’t fire…

She was just heartbroken that she didn’t get to spend more time with her.

Not surprising, in the least, she later learned from Korra that Raiko had ordered General Iroh to use the United Republic military to shoot down the airship. She couldn’t even blame him. It was the right call. 

Luckily for her, Iroh had broken military procedure and informed Korra of his orders, telling her he wouldn’t be able to stall for long but he would try to give her as much time as he could.

She stood on the side opposite Tokuga who was positioned at the console with ‘the button’, keeping her distance. While his attention was elsewhere she pointed out to Keum a single gas mask located on a hook next to the communications table for him. Every Future Industries airship had one mask so that in the event of a problem or malfunction the communications officer could get word out over the radio for rescue. 

But there was only one...if she got out of this alive she would definitely increase that number. 

Keum started to slowly creep his way toward the mask as she made her way opposite, hopefully remaining unnoticed.

She knew what was going to happen next and she knew their captor wasn’t going to be happy. 

As they drifted directly over the refugee camp she watched him press the button to release the gas with this evil smirk on his face. 

She knew it wouldn’t take long for him to realize his plan was foiled and it didn’t.

The smirk left his face as no gas released onto the innocent refugees below. 

His bright gold crocodile-lizard like eyes snapped to her like she was prey and he was a predator. 

The side of the cabin opposite her and Tokuga began filling with the gas. She saw Keum don the mask and cower in the corner...because of course he did. She didn’t really expect him to help her, unfortunately.

Tokuga’s pointy tinted eyes bored into her as he began advancing toward her, “why you little bitch! Do you even know who I am!?” 

“Do I look like I care,” she snarked back, returning his gaze with intensity to show she wasn’t intimidated even as her back hit the glass behind her.

“Oh, you should because I will be the last thing you ever see, babe!”

She noticed the gas moving quickly toward them both. Reminding herself she just had to outlast him. She could do that; she just needed him to not realize the gas was coming. Keep him monologuing. 

“Gross...you’re not really my type Mr. Lizard Man,” she quipped back in disgust. 

He reeled forward in anger growling then slowed his attack as knowing eyes hit hers, “That's right...you and the Avatar…” he was only a few feet away from her now, “you just haven’t had the right man yet, darling” 

She shivered uncomfortable as his eyes scanned their way down her body lewdly. He gripped his crotch obscenely to punctuate his point. 

Knowing he was going to reach her just as the gas would, she needed to think quickly. She knew she didn’t want to breathe it in, whatever it was. Thankfully she was fairly confident in her ability to hold her breath thanks to all the years swimming in her pool. 

Hopefully she could outlast him. It was really her only option. She gulped in as much air as she could.

“Times up. You have nowhere to go.” he smirked, reaching for her body. 

Gas finally enveloped the rest of the space, overtaking the two figures. 

She couldn’t see much anymore but she could see his face and his gold glowing eyes.

He was still smiling…

Why was he still smiling?!

He took the last half-step forward, closing the last bit of space between them, by the time she went to grab his arm to throw him over her hip, a move she had done a million times, he had already countered her. 

She realized she had miscalculated. He was way quicker than her and she wasn’t any slouch. On more than one occasion she even gave Korra a run for her money. 

Her arm was grappled and he twisted it, the pain involuntarily forcing her to her knees. As much as she tried not to, a yelp escaped her mouth and she felt the gas start to enter her lungs. 

It burned like molten lava flowing down her windpipe. Her eyes watered as the gas worked steadily to replace all the oxygen in her body. It felt as if she swallowed a thousand porcupine-frog needles. 

_What was this stuff!_

She continued looking up at Tokuga in hopes she would at least get some satisfaction at watching pain fill his eyes as he breathed in his own gas. They would go down together.

Dread filled her body.

Tokuga was laughing, something you wouldn’t be able to do without breathing in said gas. 

“You thought you were so clever...just you wait, darling...you are going to be so fun to play with...maybe this wasn’t a total bust after all.” he said as he continued to laugh maniacally.

She almost gave up right there. She had lost. She failed. The pain was making her normally calculating brain unable to think of a way to escape. It was then her eyes caught a glimpse of something just passed Tokuga. 

Korra must have metal bent her way into the cockpit with an air bubble swirling around her head to keep away the gas. She moved quickly to reach her right as Tokuga’s grip and the gas forced her deeper to her knees. His unoccupied arm rising up to lay a blow to the side of her face. 

**_FLASHBACK BREAK_ **

After making her way back down the stairs with a full backpack Asami turned around to take one last look around the house that she hoped she didn’t have to come back to anytime soon.

She was strangely slightly out of breath apparently from lugging the large backpack down the long staircase but she accredited it to the dusty environment of the abandoned house.

An uneasiness passed through her body as the slightly out of breath feeling forced her to remember the burning of her lungs of the gas as spots formed in front of her eyes. 

**_FLASHBACK (Cont.)_ **

But like a beacon in the darkness that started to fill her vision, she saw her girlfriend's face, her eyes glowing with a blinding white light.

Korra was in the Avatar State and immediately took advantage of Tokuga’s lack of awareness. His focus was on her completely, the person who single-handedly thwarted his takeover plan. Korra made it look easy as she launched him unsympathetically out of the airships window, breaking through the window and causing him to tumble to the world below.

She remembered gasping as she felt clean air enter her lungs as Korra surrounded her head with a clean oxygen bubble that matched her own. 

She remembered feeling the grip Korra had on her waist as she guided her to the airship controls. 

Even in this situation her girlfriend knew not to attempt to land the craft on her own, being acutely aware of her track record with anything that wasn’t a polar bear dog.

To her relief the pain in her throat and lungs subsided as quickly as it came. Strange.

After she managed to land the ship far away from the camp, Korra tugged her deeper into her strong arms and kissed her with such ferocity that it almost took away the breath she just got back minutes ago.

She’s not sure how long they stood there holding after getting off the airship, their foreheads touching, but she remembers not wanting to let go. 

**_END FLASHBACK_ **

She closed the door of the manor behind her.

Regrettably, her apartment that she used to call home the last few years currently lay in ruin downtown like many others.

Korra immediately offered her a place to stay at Air Temple Island fully knowing her girlfriend wouldn’t feel comfortable at the old family manor.

Normally, she would have hesitated, not wanting to be a burden to the air bender family but after today she just wanted to be close to her girlfriend. 

Korra, of course, was overjoyed at the thought of Asami joining them on the Island feeling a similar need to be close to the other girl.

_Time to go home._

  
  
  



	2. Katara's Cottage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reviews and the kudos everyone! Here's chapter two!

**_Chapter 2_ **

Korra sat at the round table surrounded by Lin, Bumi, Jinora, Mako, Bo and Tenzin in a serious discussion. She was physically there but her eyes were unfocused and her ears were not listening fully to the conversation around her even though she knew she should be.

This was not how Korra expected the last few days to go. She wished she was back in the spirit world. Did she think they would be busy? Absolutely. Asami had a city to rebuild. She had Avatar duties to both the citizens of Republic City and the Earth Kingdom. But Asami being kidnapped by a maniac and having to save the city from someone trying to hurt people so soon after Kuvira? No, that was not what she expected. But, I guess, here we are.

She let out a sigh as she reached up to rub her temples as a headache started to form behind her eyes.

She could feel Jinora's eyes on her. The young air bending master always was in tune with how others were feeling.

They were supposed to be brainstorming ideas on where Tokuga could have gone. After Korra threw him out of the airship the surrounding forces searched for him tirelessly for hours. Never finding a sign of him.

_How could I have let him get away!? She was so strong when I told her we didn’t have Tokuga in custody but I could tell she was worried...spirits, I’m worried..._

“He couldn’t have gone far,” Mako said looking closer at the map in front of Lin, “there’s no way he made it out of the city with the rails being trashed and all air traffic is being monitored heavily by The United Forces.” 

The map itself had red ‘X’s in a bunch of areas indicating where there weren’t any buildings anymore. 

“I agree. He’s still here.” Lin concurred with her young detective as she crossed off the rails from the map with a marker.

“He can’t go back to the gangs, that’s for sure. My intel says Jargala has taken over uniting them under the Creeping Crystals.” Bolin said nonchalantly while taking a bite out of a muffin Pema made.

The entire table looked at him like he just airbent. Even Tenzin had a look of disbelief on his face. Even Bumi looked over at the earthbender suspiciously because he was the king of exaggerated stories.

“What’d I say?” Bolin says looking back at the group, crumbs unceremoniously falling out of his mouth.

“Your intel? Where did you get intel?” Mako raised his thick eyebrow at his brother. A half-smile on his face proud of the fact his brother was enjoying his new position as a police officer but also skeptical about the reliability of this new information.

“I can have intel! I ran into Skoochy in the camp while we were searching for Tokuga. I think Tokuga taking out the Triads shook him up a bit. I think he gave me that info as a thank you to us,” Bolin explained looking a little proud of himself.

Lin leaned back into her chair mirroring Korra’s early actions and began rubbing her temples. It seemed headaches were in no short supply tonight. No doubt this situation was getting to everyone. It’s been a long few days and it was taking its toll. 

“Jargala! Wonderful! That's all I need is all the gangs to join hands like one big happy violent crime family,” Lin said with exasperation, her brows knitted together.

“I understand your frustration Lin but I think right now our focus needs to be on stabilizing Republic City...” Tenzin said while looking at the tired people around him.

“I can’t just let Tokuga get away!” Korra yelled as she stood up quickly, slamming her hands on the table, surprising the group.

The entire table looked at her as if she had a turtle-duck on her head. She had been so quiet before her outburst, maybe they had forgotten she was still there.

Bo put a hand on her arm in hopes to calm her down, “don’t worry Korra we will keep an eye out for him...right Mako?” 

He looked at his older brother for help.

Mako observed his friend thinking back to how he felt when Korra herself was kidnapped. It was years ago but it didn’t stop the feelings of powerlessness entering his chest. 

Even though he was dating Asami at the time...Mako shook those thoughts out of his head not wanting to go down that rabbit hole.

It was all ancient history. He was happy for Korra and Asami. Him and Asami. Him and Korra. They didn't work, romantically. And that was ok. 

No doubt Korra was feeling very protective of Asami just like he did after Korra was found during the whole Tarrlok/Amon situation.

“We will,” Mako said with conviction while looking into Korra’s eyes. Even IF Korra and Asami weren't dating, Asami was like a sister to him and albeit his protectiveness wasn’t the same as Korra was certainly feeling at that moment he still felt it. 

Korra normally would have argued with that short of an answer but he saw the conviction in Mako’s eyes. She sighed as she leaned back in her chair again. She unclenched her fists she didn’t even know were turning white knuckled on the table, relaxing somewhat. 

She knows she’s not mad at anyone in this room. She’s mad at the situation. She’s mad at herself for not catching Tokuga.

“Thanks guys...,”Korra said looking at the officer brothers, “but I want to know the second you catch a whiff of him, ok?”

“You got it.” Bo says.

“Absolutely.” Mako looked at Lin for approval.

“Well that’s settled,” Lin said, getting up and pouring the rest of her tea in the sink. 

“I want to see you both in my office tomorrow and we will go over a canvas.” She looked back at the brothers.

“Yes, Chief. We'll be there.” Mako said on behalf of the pair. 

Lin exited the room toward the female dorms.

Jinora put a hand on Korra’s shoulder and smiled sympathetically as she also got up to head to bed as well. 

Bumi smiled at the reincarnation of his father in show of support and left the room with the others. 

Reading the room Mako noticed Tenzin looking at Korra as if he needed to speak with her but the boys were present. “We should probably head to bed as well. Goodnight.” Mako said as he pulled his brother up out of his seat and along with him.

“But I’m not done with my snack...,” Bolin cried out as his arm was yanked through the door.

Korra is sitting back in her seat with a semi-blank stare on her face again barely registering the last few sentences. Her mind keeps replaying the events that transpired on the airship today.

Tenzin gets up and slowly walks over to his student. He put a hand on her shoulder similar to how Jinora just did. A small flinch propelled her out of her thoughts. 

“Would you like to talk, Korra?” Korra looked up at Tenzin.

Thankful for her mentor's concern,“maybe not right now but can you keep the invitation open?” 

She truly appreciated the offer but all her mind can think about is Asami and she’s just not sure she’s ready to open up that deeply about her relationship to anyone other than her girlfriend just yet. 

Her friends and family, even her parents, all know about them being together and everyone was so happy for them but after today she just felt raw and the longer Asami was away from her side the more agitated she felt herself becoming. 

Even though Asami assured her she would be fine going to the manor alone, she felt uneasy. More so now that she knows Tokuga is at large. 

“I am always here.” Tenzin said looking at the younger girl. “Why don’t you go wait at the dock? I believe the next ferry is due any moment now.”

“Thank you. I think I will,” Korra said smiling at her teacher. He somehow knew what she needed at that moment was Asami.

“Oh, Korra...Pema told me to let you know she moved you two into my mothers cottage on the far side of the island. We are packed tight in here these days…*clearing his throat* she thought you would want privacy,” Tenzin said looking more uncomfortable the more he spoke.

Korra’s cheeks reddened significantly, “Are you sure that’s alright? We don’t want to impose.” Korra said as her heart started to pound a little harder in her chest at the thought of actually having privacy with her girlfriend.

Tenzin cleared his throat uncomfortably, “Not at all. Just...please behave.” He gave her that look...you know the one.

Korra felt like she was about to burst into flames right there. She was looking anywhere but her airbending master's face...it looked like Tenzin was struggling with the content of the conversation just the same.

“We will,” Korra said quicker than she needed to. “I’m...um...gonna go to the dock. Night!” As she waved and rushed out of the room, she had to leave before her cheeks melted off her face.

It was a short walk from the main house to the dock. The waves were slapping softly against the wood framing, the moon illuminated just enough of her surroundings to see. 

She made her way to the end of the dock, sat down and put her feet in the water. Water always comforted her, as her feet started to glide absentmindedly in the tepid water. Although it really wasn’t doing much to help cooking the embarrassment that engulfed her cheeks.

_Gah, that was so weird! I mean, of course, I want privacy with my girlfriend but talking about it with Tenzin...ek. We haven’t done much more than kiss each other and cuddle a little. Does he think the minute we’re alone I’m going to jump her bones?_

She could feel the heat spread throughout her body as the thoughts about her girlfriend grew to be less than innocent.

_I don’t know if she’s ready for more than what we are doing right now. We will have to talk about it...but not right now...right now I need to be there for her. Everything else is second._

She was pulled out of her thoughts as she heard the deep mechanical drone of the ferry’s engine in the distance.

Getting to her feet, she waited for the boat to dock. She saw her raven haired girlfriend standing on the stern holding onto the straps of her backpack as beautiful as ever. Her gorgeous hair flowed around her face in the delicate night breeze, eyes glittering in the moonlight like green gems. But even at a distance Korra could see the tiredness hidden behind those eyes.

She gave Asami a soft smile as the boat came to a stop. She reached her arm out to help Asami over the gap and onto land.

As soon as Asami’s feet hit the wood planks she practically fell into her arms. She felt arms wrap around her under her arms, fingertips digging lightly into the muscles of her back as if the grip was the only thing keeping her girlfriends feet on the ground.

She held her ground even though she didn’t fully expect the girl to fall so hard into her. Snaking her arms between the backpack and her girlfriends back she tried to match the grasp. They just stood there holding each other.

“Hi,” Korra said breaking the silence with a smile as she pulled the girl slightly back to look at her. She reached a hand up and tucked a piece of her girlfriends hair behind her ear.

“Hi,” Asami parroted as she leaned forward laying her forehead back on Korra’s shoulder in exasperation.

“Why don’t we get settled in...how does that sound?” Korra kissed the side of Asami’s head as it laid on her shoulder.

Asami shook her head up and down slowly in agreement as it still lay on Korra’s shoulder. Korra giggled at how adorable her girlfriend was being. Asami pulled away reluctantly.

Reaching for the strap, Korra grabbed the pack from her girlfriend who looked like she was going to double over with fatigue. 

Asami smiled to relay her thanks. 

They reached out to take each other's hand at the same time as they made their way down the dock. Following the path they walked side by side with their fingers laced past the courtyard.

She led them past the female dormitories. Past the stables. She smiled at and then nodded to Naga as they went by. The polar bear dog lifted her head and locked eyes with her companion but then put her head back down knowing there would be time for hello’s tomorrow as she sensed the exhaustion coming from the two girls.

It took the normally perceptive engineer a few minutes to realize they were not on the same path they normally would have taken to get to their respective rooms in the female dormitory. If so, they would have been there by now.

Looking around she actually realized she had never been to this side of the island. She looked over to Korra with questioning eyes.

Understanding her girlfriend's confusion, "Normally, we would stay in the dorm like always but the house is a little crowded at the moment with all the air benders, Lin, Kya, Mako, Bo...everyone really...," Korra smiled and let out a small laugh as she thought about everyone on the island together.

The circumstances were not exactly great being that everyone was here because they were essentially homeless because of the destruction Kuvira caused but nevertheless she enjoyed having so many people she cared about in one place.

"Instead, Pema set us up over here," Korra said, squeezing her girlfriends hand lightly.

“I know this is different from sleeping together in the spirit world and I don’t want to push you into anything you might not be comfortable with...there’s two bedrooms...” Korra rambled and blushed as she said those words realizing how they sounded. Her unoccupied hand went to run the back of her neck in nervousness.

"Korra, it’s ok,” Asami said, squeezing back reassuringly, stopping her girlfriend's rant from snowballing. It was Asami’s turn to let out a small giggle at how cute she was being.

“Are you sure?” Korra said.

“Positive,” Asami said with a smile, her cheeks flushing with pink.

"I think you are really going to like it," Korra smiled in relief back at the brunette. She pointed over to the small building near the water's edge tucked behind a line of willow trees not far in front of them.

Asami looked ahead to see a cottage-like structure peaking through dense branches as it was illuminated by the moon. It looked similar to the main building but also different. Even in the semi-darkness you could tell it was painted bright white with prominent blue accents, a stark contrast to the brown buildings at the other side of the island. 

"Tenzin built this for his mom years ago. It was a cozy place for her to stay closer to the water when she came to visit," Korra smiled at the thought of the old water bender.

_Ahhh now the color makes sense…Water Tribe colors_

Asami put the pieces together.

"It's beautiful," Asami said, “are you sure Katara is okay with us staying here?

“Absolutely,” Korra reassured her.

Korra reached for the door, opening it politely for the other girl. They walked into a cozy living room filled with pictures of Katara's family, her and Aang and what looked to Asami to be photos of the older "Team Avatars" adventures over the years. There were definitely some crazy stories behind these photos but that will have to be for another time.

There was a long comfy looking couch off to her side behind a fluffy rug and a small fireplace. Tucked in the corner was a full kitchen. In front of her was a hallway.

Korra could see Asami taking in her surroundings and her girlfriend's face looked happy, yet she could still see the same tiredness from the dock twinkling in her green eyes.

Korra put her hand on the girls forearm breaking her out of her trance, "come on, your room is right next to mine." She guided Asami down the short hallway to the door to her new bedroom.

Korra opened the door. Walking in she placed the backpack next to the dresser.

The room was fairly large, about double the size of the dorms. There was even a queen bed settled in the middle of the room. If you were in bed she was sure you could get a perfect view of the bay from the practically floor to ceiling windows.

Asami turned her body around to reach out for Korra again. “It’s perfect. And even more so because I’m with you.”

Korra easily allowed herself to be pulled forward, their bodies connecting. 

She leaned forward to capture the slightly taller girl's lips. _How did I get this lucky?_ Asami deepened the kiss with what little energy was left in her body. Korra ran her tongue along the soft lips she was enjoying to ask for permission. Asami let out the quietest moan that you could have almost missed, allowing her girlfriend to press forward. 

They both hadn’t really talked about what transpired today but this kiss held a lot of those emotions. 

As much as she wanted to continue Korra could tell that exhaustion was taking over her girlfriend, she could feel how much she was holding up the other girl with her arms. Reluctantly, she pulled away slowly, “Why don’t I let you put on some night clothes and you can get ready for bed before you fall over, okay?”

Asami gingerly nodded her head in agreement as her eyes felt heavier by the second.

Not wanting to leave Asami for long she quickly took a shower, finished brushing her teeth and got dressed for bed in her room next door while Asami did the same in hers. She grabbed the first thing in her drawer, _Thanks, Pema!_ and put on her favorite pair of short blue shorts that showed off her strong legs and white T-shirt over her black sports bra.

After getting dressed she made her way next door, knocking lightly on Asami’s door.

“Come in,” Asami said quietly.

“Hey, you,” Korra said as she got closer to her girlfriend who was already snuggled on her side under a water tribe blankets that lay over the bed.

Korra knelt down next to the bed looking into her girlfriend's green eyes. She reached up brushing the wispy hairs away from her forehead, “Do you need anything before I head to bed?”

Asami looked so small under the blankets and pelts. Her eyes were slightly glassy as their eyes locked. Korra noticed her face looked a little paler than normal but that could have just been the moonlight that flooded the room.

She reached up to hold the hand brushing back her hair not wanting to let go. She was so tired and the day's events started to wash over her body in waves.

“...can you stay with me?” Asami whispered so softly Korra almost missed it.

“Of course I will,” Korra said without hesitation while standing up from her squat. She leaned down to place a small kiss on her partners lips. She walked around to the other side of the bed, lifted the blankets and climbed in behind her girlfriend. She immediately pulled the girl into her arms after she airbent the lights off.

Her body mirrored Asami’s from behind and her arms traveled their way around her girlfriends middle, searching and finding her hands and lacing their fingers together over her stomach.

Korra would have normally been awkward and clumsy in this situation with such close proximity to the girl that made her heart beat in her ears...they had cuddled in the spirit world but this seemed to be a bigger step for them...but in this moment she didn’t have time to overthink it; Asami needed her.

“I love you,” Asami said breathily. 

“I love you so much. I’ll be right here if you need me,” Korra responded while tightening her grip slightly, laying one last kiss to the back of Asami’s head. 

Korra let her head fall forward and into the crook of the back of Asami's neck. She inhaled with a comfortable sigh as the smell of shampoo and something else that was uniquely Asami took over her senses. She would never get tired of this. Especially holding her girlfriend in her arms like this—if she was never allowed to leave this bed she would still be content for the rest of her life.

She could tell in this short time Asami had already fallen asleep due to the change in her breathing. She snuggled in deeper as she thought to herself.

_I can’t believe I almost lost you today...I don’t know what I would have done if..._

Korra was ready for it to take a while for her thoughts to quiet down but after snuggling in behind her girlfriend her body realized how tired it was. 

She let herself drift off to sleep following Asami’s lead. 

*time passes*

* * *

A strange sound accompanied by the feeling that the bed was shaking beneath her pulled her out of her slumber. Her arm was thrown off the body she was holding onto in the night. 

_What in the world?_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all are enjoying this so far. Let me know what you guys think!   
> Thanks again for reading!


	3. Déjà Vu

**Ch. 3**

She felt a gasp float up into her throat as she heaved for air.

_ What…? _

She tried to catch her breath as it eluded her, her eyes opening to an unfamiliar dark room. 

As the world came into focus she slowly recognized her surroundings from earlier that night; Katara’s cottage.

She could see the moon still high in the sky over the bay, reflecting on the water and casting its light into the room through the window. 

Warm weight lay on the mattress beside her, Korra was still sleeping soundly with her hair framing her face and her mouth hanging slightly open.

_ Spirits, she is so adorable... At least I didn’t wake her up.  _

She softly ran her finger-tips down the forearm that was laying on her stomach, enjoying the feeling of her girlfriend's smooth skin.

_ It’s not morning yet?...What woke me up? Did I have a nightmare? ...I normally remember my dreams...I would be lying if I told myself Tokuga didn’t scare me...It must have been a nightmare...  _

She felt a shiver crawl through her body compelling her to pull the blankets tighter around herself. 

As she laid with her eyes shut she tried to focus on the soft and rhythmic sound of Korra breathing beside her. She tried to match her breathing with Korra’s in hopes it would lul her back to sleep. 

_ Go back to sleep...come on brain...go back to sleep...how am I this tired but can’t go back to sleep? _

As she was trying to coax herself back to dreamland a deep cough surprised her as it forced its way up from the depths of her chest.

_ Ow, well that kind of hurt. Was it dusty in here or something? I guess this place hasn’t been used in a while...it is really cute though...and Korra and I have it all to ourselves... _ She blushed at the thought. 

Another shiver ran through her body in a wave that started from her toes and moved up to her head.

_ Spirits...I forgot I left the window open so I could hear the waves. It’s freezing in here now...I’ll ask Pema for another blanket tomorrow...go back to sleep…go back to sleep… _ *shiver* _ At least I know Korra won’t be bothered by the cold in here...she could live in the tundra in nothing but a T-shirt and shorts.  _ She let out a small laugh at the image in her girlfriend sipping on a cold drink laying in the snow by the water. 

It was then that she started to notice how heavy her chest felt every time she inhaled. It felt like she had a small otter-penguin sitting on her chest.

She tried to take a deeper breath... _ stupid dust... _ As soon as she was halfway through the deep breath another cough exploded from her lungs.  _ Ok...maybe not dust...ouch.  _

Reassessing herself she realized her entire body was beginning to ache. Her joints stiff and her head was pounding lightly behind her eyes.

_ Come on, am I getting sick? I never get sick.  _ She thought back sadly, realizing that the last time she was ill it was her dad who took care of her when a nasty cold swept through her school. Her dad even went as far as staying home from Future Industries for a few days, something he never did, and sent all of the house employees home so that he could take care of her himself.  _ That almost feels like another lifetime ago… _

Her muscles contracted as more small shivers rolled through her, the small movements inducing a small coughing fit. She tried to stifle them so she wouldn’t wake up Korra but it only made it worse. She gulped as much air as she could between coughs before the feeling in her chest forced her to sit upright quickly to catch her breath. This propelled Korra’s arm off of her unceremoniously. 

She held one hand over her mouth and the other flat against her chest in what felt like a futile effort to try to calm her breathing. 

Having her arm thrown combined with the bizarre sound shocked Korra out of her slumber, her eyes opened and then quickly widening with shock as she saw Asami sitting upright next to her. 

“Asami..." she questioned, distress seeping out of her voice as she moved swiftly to match Asami’s sitting position. 

She looked over at her girlfriend who was coughing next to her. “Sweetheart, are you ok?”

“I’m..sorry..*cough*...didn’t mean to...wake you up…*cough*...

“Hey...don’t be sorry,” she pulled herself closer to Asami's haggard-breathing body as she ran a hand up and down her back to comfort her. 

She looked over at her girlfriend with worry, she quickly observed how pale Asami was but at the same time her cheeks were flushed with pink. 

After a few more small coughs Asami finally settled her breathing down and leaned into the other girls body, unconsciously searching for warmth. 

Clearing her throat one last time to test if more coughing was in her future, embarrassed, Asami looked over and smiled weakly at the girl she just woke up.

“I don’t know what that was…I’m ok now,” Asami said as Korra looked into her eyes that couldn’t hide their dulling due to exhaustion.

Just by leaning together she could feel that Asami was warmer than she should be but by how much she didn’t know. Korra raised her hand up and put it to Asami’s forehead. 

“You feel kinda warm…” Korra said with concern.

“It’s nothing… I probably just caught a little cold or something...wasn’t Meelo sick the day we got back?” Asami tried to reason as she tried to wave off her girlfriend's doting. 

“He was but he had a stomach ache...he wasn’t coughing,” Korra reflected with concern.

“Let's go back to sleep...I’ll go see Kya tomorrow,” Asami tried to bargain as her eyes began to droop further. 

“You promise?” Korra looked at Asami who was already starting to lay back down. 

“I promise...now get over here so I can lay on you.” Asami pulled on Korra’s arm, forcing her beside her.

Korra smiled as she settled onto her back and pulled Asami onto her chest. Asami snuggled onto her shoulder and wrapped her arm around Korra’s stomach. 

Korra brushes Asami’s hair back, “wake me up if you get up again, ok?”

Asami nodded her head on her girlfriend's chest in agreement. 

Korra laid there lightly threading her fingers through Asami’s soft and long black hair. She wasn’t sure if she was doing this to calm herself or Asami or both. 

_ I hope she’s not getting sick...it wouldn’t surprise me though...ever since we got back from vacation she’s been running herself ragged to help fix the city...and then Tokuga...yeah...I wouldn’t be surprised. _

_ I wonder if I could convince her to go see Kya again even if she’s feeling ok tomorrow. I know Kya looked her over after the fight with Tokuga and said she was in perfect health but...I don’t know...it would just make me feel better...we still don’t know what that gas was...I know she breathed in quite a bit…I watched it... _ She frowned at the image of Asami on her knees breathing in the gas that had taken over the airship.

_ We don’t even have any of it left to test to figure out what it was supposed to do...and Tokuga is nowhere to be found so we can’t ask him!...Gah! When I find him... _ She could feel her fist clench the sheets beside her in anger. 

Recognizing that her thoughts were tumbling out of control she took a long breath in hopes to slow them. She began slowing her breathing down as she tried to calm herself down and to more productive thoughts.

_ Maybe I should go with Mako and Bo in the morning...I can help them canvas...if Lin will let me that is. I should see if Asami will stay home tomorrow, too, just to relax for a day or two...I know she’s going to want to go right back to the construction site to help but Verrick can handle it for a few more days...I know she probably won't agree but I can always try…if anyone deserves a day off it’s Asami especially after being kidnapped for spirits sake… _

She angled her head down onto Asami’s as she let her rolling thoughts fade into the distance, letting sleep take over.

* * *

_ No! Is it morning already?! I’m not ready...it feels like I’ve barely slept at all... _ Korra opened her eyes slowly, prepared to curse at the sun for waking her up but to her surprise it wasn’t up yet.  _ Weird _ . The room was still enveloped in darkness. She felt Déjà vu as she was awake for the second time that night.

It wasn’t like before when she was startled awake by Asami coughing, nothing seemed out of place this time but for some reason she felt on edge. She just had this feeling she needed to be awake and over the years if there’s one thing she’s learned it’s to listen to those feelings.  _ Maybe it's nothing... _

Korra could hear the soothing sounds of waves through the open window. It was a perfect mild summer night. Maybe a little warmer than she would like but she knows Asami is not a fan of anything under 75 degrees.  _ Her Fire Nation blood and my Water Tribe blood...I’m probably going to have many toasty nights in my future.  _ She giggled inside her head and her cheeks blushed at the connotation of having ‘toasty’ nights with her girlfriend. . 

She looked down at the weight she felt on her chest and smiled. Her beautiful girlfriend's dark hair billowed down her shoulder as she was snuggled deeply into her neck.

_ Man, I could stay like this forever. _

She brought her hand up to stroke the girls back when her sleepy eyes looked a little closer. Asami’s hand was gripping tightly at Korra’s T-shirt, her knuckles whited out from the tight hold.

She became acutely aware of the tiny trembles coming from Asami even though they were both under a Water Tribe pelt.

As she rubbed her hand down Asami’s back and could feel that her pajamas were sticking against her skin. She didn’t have to look much harder to notice the thin layer of sweat that coated her ivory skinned body. 

_ Oh, no...so much for not being sick… _

In times like this Korra was aware that even as a solid waterbender her healing abilities were pretty limited, especially when it came to illnesses. The White Lotus apparently didn’t think it was ‘needed’ for her even though she remembers Katara advocating for it but in the end losing out to the rest of the White Lotus’s vote. She internally scoffed but told herself she would have to be mad at that and them another time.

She bent her head down gently touching her lips to the other girl's forehead, as soon as her lips made contact she stopped instantly. The girl in her arms was much warmer than she was earlier in the night. You could feel the heat radiating off of her skin. Korra’s eyes blew open wide; she was fully awake now.

_ She can’t catch a break can she...she definitely has a fever...I need to wake her up...maybe Katara left some medicine around here somewhere...a bath might cool her down... _

“Baaabe, can you wake up for me…,” Korra said as she attempted to wake the girl with a gentle rub on her shoulder. Asami let out a tiny moan but it was unlike the ones Korra was starting to get accustomed to when they would kiss. This sound was laced with distress and Korra didn’t like it one bit.

She slowly and easily pulled herself out from under the engineer's body and turned on her side to examine her girlfriend with worry etching her face.

She gently shook her shoulder again, “Asaaaaamiiii…” she sang quietly. 

“Mmm...wha,” Asami’s eyes started to flutter open as her brain tried to let her hear her girlfriend's intonated voice. 

“Come on, sweetheart…you gotta wake up.”

“I don’t want to…” she mumbled, eyebrows knitted together. 

Korra rubbed her arm to coax her awake. 

“Mmmgh...Korra...I don’t...feel good,” Asami said, her words partially slurred. Her head hurt immensely, like she had just finished spending an entire week fighting against Verricks dumb and dangerous ideas. She also felt so cold it was like she was encased in ice. She winced as another shiver racked over her body, pain ripping through every nerve-ending. 

Korra watched as Asami’s face contorted with pain.  _ Ok...we need more than medicine. _

“I don’t like this...we need to go see Kya,” Korra said softly as she stroked her hand over Asami’s warm and damp forehead. 

Korra pulled the blankets back from herself so she could release herself from the cocooned mound of covers. She noticed Asami barely recognized her absence as her eyes squinted closed again. 

She didn’t know what to do but she knew Asami needed more help than she could give her but they were on the other side of the island.  _ I can’t just leave her here...what if something happened while I was gone?...No, I’m gonna have to bring her to the main house...to Kya. _

Korra walked over to Asami’s side of the bed and looked down trying to assess how she was going to do this. 

“Asaaaaami...time to wake up…I need you to sit up for me…” 

Asami’s eyes cracked back open begrudgingly and she thought about what Korra was asking of her. Her brain sluggishly computed the information.  _ Sit up...Korra wants me to sit up... _ She struggled to sit up. Her whole body hurt so badly and her limbs felt like they were made of cement. She let a small cry escape her as she felt Korra’s arms pull her up from under her arms to help her into a sitting position.

“You ok? Did I hurt you?” Korra said worriedly, the cry shocking her. 

Asami was like a bag of wet noodles, as soon as Korra had her upright her head slumped forward into her chest. “Mmmmgh...hurts” Asami mumbled into Korra’s chest. 

“What hurts, baby?” Korra asked. 

Asami couldn't answer because she unexpectedly started coughing again. Korra began rubbing her back to try to sooth her but every movement of Korra’s arm seemed to cause Asami more discomfort. _ Even touching her is hurting her?...something is wrong...really wrong... _ Korra let her arm hover over Asami’s back now afraid to make contact.

It only took a few moments for tears to start falling down Asami’s cheeks as she fought through the pain coursing through her body. 

Between the coughing, the shivers and pure exhaustion Korra realized there was only one way she was going to get Asami to Kya; she was going to have to carry her. That task was going to be exceptionally difficult and painful for the both of them.

“I have to pick you up...I’ll go as quick as I can baby,’ Korra put one arm behind Asami’s back and one arm under her knees and she picked up her sick girlfriend with ease but not before Asami let out an even larger cry, her nerves screaming. 

“I’m sorry...I’m sorry...shhhh...I’ve got you….we’re gonna go to Kya and she’s gonna make you feel better,” Korra said as she tried to force confidence into the words she was speaking as her heart broke for causing Asami more pain.

Blanket and all she settled into Korra’s strong arms. The pain after being jostled ebbing away to a dull throb. Her eyebrows were knitted together and she had the same grip on Korra’s shirt that she had when she was sleeping. Korra could feel the wetness of tears soak through her shirt as Asami calmed and nestled into her chest.

With Asami huddled in her arms Korra began the trek to the main building, cautious with her movements so as not to cause more pain. It wasn't a terribly far journey but it seemed to give Korra too much time to think as she felt the small coughing every now and again continue from her sick girlfriend in her arms. 

Korra was starting to panic internally as the moon’s glow lit her way across the island.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter in the books! Thank you for all the reviews, kudos, follows, everything! It means so much to me!   
> I have the next chapter almost written so I might post it tomorrow...but maybe I might make you guys wait *wink*
> 
> Let me know what you guys think so far!


	4. Why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate to do this to our girl but it’s gotta happen 😉
> 
> Thanks for all the likes, follows, and comments! 
> 
> Here  
> We  
> Go!

**_BAM!_ **

The sound of the doors flying open and hitting the walls echoed down the hallways.

After stepping forward, deeper into the common room, Korra stopped. She looked down at Asami’s pale face, it was covered with tiny sweat droplets, her body feeling more limp in her arms by the second and she did the only thing she could think of; screamed.

“Help! Somebody help!” Korra could feel herself slipping into hysterics. Her voice was trembling. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

She could feel the uneven breathing between the coughing come from Asami. She’s seen sick before...this...this felt different.  _ You’re gonna be ok....please come quick...somebody...I can’t...I don’t know what to do. _

She stood as still as a statue trying not to cause Asami any more pain from moving about. She cursed herself for not knowing where Kya’s room was; she knew she was stuck here waiting for someone to come to her. 

Suddenly, she hears doors open, the sound of multiple people running reverberated on the tiled floor and down the halls.

A disheveled Mako came around the corner, a fire dagger drawn at his side ready to attack whomever was threatening his home. Not far behind him was a groggy looking Bolin and Opal who were holding hands with one another but ready to fight.

“Korra?! What happened?! What’s wrong?!” Mako said as he and the other two crossed the room to get closer, putting out his fire dagger.

“I don’t know...I don’t know! I woke up and she was like this!” Korra said rapidly as her three friends surrounded her. 

Opal looked at Korra and then to Asami who had her eyes squeezed shut, a pained look on her face. She reached forward and put her hand to her best friend's noticeably pink cheek before Korra could stop her. 

Asami let out a pained moan and recoiled away from Opal’s touch. She retracted her hand like she had just been zapped with lightning and looked at Korra with surprise. “She is burning up...”

“I know...and it’s like touching her is hurting her…I don't know what’s happening,” Korra looked down at Asami.

The older adults started filtering into the room lowering their own fighting stances.

“Korra? Are you alright? What’s going on?” Tenzin said as his night robes billowed behind him.

Next to him was Pema, Bumi and the kids.

Pema walked up to Korra, the young adults making way for the surrogate mother of the group, “Oh dear,” Pema looked over her shoulder at her husband with worry etched in her brow, “Where’s Kya?”

“What do I do?” Korra said shakily, looking to Pema for advice, panic seeping through her voice.

“You’ve done so great, Korra. Kya will be here soon. In the meantime, why don’t you let someone else hold her for you?” Pema explained both seeing and feeling the distress coming from Korra. 

Korra looked back with confusion.  _ Why would Pema even ask that!  _

“W-what? No…”

“Let me take her...” Mako said, stepping forward looking Korra directly in her eyes, he knew he was asking something very difficult of her.

Korra furrowed her brows, wanting to hold onto Asami tighter. 

“...Korra, you’re shaking,” the firebender said softly as he reached out for the girl in Korra’s arms. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Korra finally relented, letting her friend take the trembling form from her arms.

Asami made a noise that sounded like a mix of a moan and a yelp, shocking the entire room. 

“I’m sorry...shhh,” Mako said tenderly while hoisting the girl in his arms mirroring Korra. She looked so small in his arms. 

The tears in her eyes broke like a damn at the heart wrenching sound. With the weight lifted she was suddenly acutely aware that her hands were shaking with adrenaline and fear. The only tactile thing grounding her to the room was the warm tears now flowing freely down her cheeks.

Tenzin was just about to start walking down the corridor to retrieve his sister when Kya and Lin finally came into view. You could see the blush that was overtaking their cheeks as well as Lin’s clothing being particularly disheveled.

Kya rushed up to the group of young adults after noticing everyone gathering around. She was shocked to see the state Asami was in.

“We need to get her into the healing pool.” Kya said with urgency. “Korra, Opal, I need you two to come with me.”

Opal put her hand on Korra’s arm to hopefully ground her friend, nodding to show that she heard Kya’s request. 

Mako, flanked by Kya, began down the hallway that led to the healing ward.

* * *

Pema gave her husband a concerned look. She could feel how fevered Asami was without even touching her. She was no novice when it came to illnesses having raised three children of her own, not to mention all of the acolytes within her care but the sight of Asami’s curled up form shook her motherly resolve. Tenzin walked up and put his hand on Pema’s back in support. 

The matriarch rang her hands together as she watched the kids leave with Kya but tried to let her husband's hand sooth her worry. She was feeling helpless—someone whom she thinks of as a daughter was in trouble and there wasn’t anything she could really do. Of course, Kya would call her if she was needed but for now she had to keep herself busy. She looked to the weary group as they each person went to take a seat somewhere around the room in an attempt to get comfortable. Everyone knew they were in for a long night. 

“I’ll put on some tea...”

* * *

  
Kya opened the door for Mako, Opal and Korra to enter the healing chamber her late father built for her mom years ago.

This room  made her feel so connected to not only her mom but also her dad but unfortunately she was rarely in here for pleasant reasons - like today.

Her dad made sure her mom would want for nothing when it came to a place for her to flex her healing prowess. The room was fairly large with full-size beds lining the far back wall, two large rectangular pools were stationed at the center and each pool was paired with a matching exam table. Along the walls were almost floor to ceiling cabinets filled with all sorts of supplies, machines and medicines - everything a healer could ever need.

“Set her down right here,” Kya gestured to one of the padded exam tables nearby that was set to a half seated position.

Mako laid his friend on the table as gently as he could and backed away not knowing what else to do. Asami made a pained sound but it was softer than before, he grimaced not knowing if that was a good or bad thing.

“Mako, thank you for your help. We will take it from here.” Kya said respectfully, sending him a quick smile.

Mako could feel his cheeks heat up when he realized what needed to happen before they put Asami into any healing water. He nodded and put a friendly hand of moral support on Korra’s shoulder before making his way out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Korra and Opal walked up to the table as Kya traveled over to a nearby cart off to their side, opening a drawer.

Asami’s eyes were drooping, her normally vibrant green eyes glazed and glassy.

“MmmghKor...ra" Asami whispered breathily as if she wasn’t really speaking to them.

“Asami, I’m here, I’m right here” Korra’s hand hovering over slender fingers, desperate to touch her, to comfort her. “Opal’s here, too.” 

“You’re ok, Sams,” Opal said reassuringly. 

Another bout of thick coughing broke free from her lungs causing tears to leak from the corners of her eyes as she struggled to catch enough air between lurches. Her head flopped from side to side as she moaned in pain as it threatened to envelop her whole.

“I know it hurts...just a little longer...Kya’s gonna make you feel better soon” 

Kya came back with something in her hand.

Kya bent down to look at her patient and friend, finally able to get a proper look at her condition. Asami’s skin was a terrifying shade of grey, her black hair was matted against her face and a shiny sheen of sweat covered her entire body. 

“Hey, kiddo...Korra tells me you’re not feeling too well.” Kya looked down at Asami and then smiled at Korra to try to lighten the room. She could see Korra’s aura all muddled with stress and concern. 

Asami’s eyes opened, you could see she was struggling to focus on the waterbenders' words. “MmmKor...fly...noodles,” she mumbled as a shiver slurred her words together. 

“Noodles?” Opal repeated with worry. She would have laughed if the situation wasn’t so dire. The jumbled words reminded her how Asami sounded after they both had a sleepover to drown their sorrows of both Korra and Bolin being gone so long with some of Hiroshi’s cactus juice - a little too much cactus juice. 

Korra’s resolve cracked even further as she realized Asami had deteriorated so much even since getting here. She was in a daze and wasn’t making any sense and for someone as cool and collected as the engineer that was alarming to everyone in the room. 

“Oh, sweety...let’s see what we can do to get you feeling better…” 

They looked on intently as Kya put the electronic thermometer in Asami’s ear, wincing at the contact. 

The device beeped and Kya read the illuminated screen to herself trying not to let the two younger girls see the result. She knew Asami had a fever, you could easily feel the heat coming off the young girl. She also knew it was going to be high, especially now that Asami was having difficulty speaking coherently but this was not what she was expecting.

With decades of medical training under her mother's guidance, who is unarguably the most powerful healer in the world, she usually felt fairly prepared for most injuries and illnesses this family could throw at her. Korra had certainly kept her on her toes all these years. Nothing could have prepared her for this and her mother was oceans away.

The thermometer read a striking 105.8 degrees. She has seen many high fevers in her years of practice. Remembering back to a bout of eel-seal flu that hit the south years ago that was characterized by a high fever but even those cases were 103, a few 104’s. Not almost 106 degrees! This was so much higher than that and it was dangerous. She needed to work fast but also not alert the girls to her worry, she didn’t need them panicking when she would need their help.

“I need you to undress her down to her underwear while I go start the bath, ok girls?” She would normally skip taking clothing off in this type of situation but after having just examined the girl that very day and finding her in perfect health she needed as much contact as possible so she wouldn’t miss anything. She had to have missed something. Otherwise why would this be happening? 

She needed to start focusing on the supplies she would require, especially for the labored breathing coming from Asami. 

“How are we going to get her clothes off if every time we touch her it hurts her?” Opal asked. 

Kya furrowed her brows at the new information. She was taken aback, that symptom was something she had never heard of but for now it was going to have to take an unfortunate back seat to Asami’s fever. 

She reached into another drawer and grasped a pair of sheers, handing them over to the young air bender, “Use these...I need to prepare a few things and draw the pool...it will only take a couple minutes and I’ll be right here.”

“O-ok,” Opal said as she grasped what was being asked of her.

Korra did not picture this scenario when she imagined the first time seeing her girlfriend in her underwear. 

Opal was the first to speak between them, putting her hand on top of Korra’s for support, “It’s ok, Korra...I’ll help you...let’s start with her shirt, alright?” 

Over the years of Korra’s absence Opal and Asami grew incredibly close to each other - the engineer was easy to love. Her brains, her empathy, her heart all of it could draw you in. Today Asami was like the sister she never had - the sister Kuvira was ‘supposed’ to be. 

Opal reached forward and carefully began unwrapping her friend from the pelt blanket that had come along for the journey. Under the blanket Asami was wearing a long-sleeve Fire-Ferret shirt and grey sweatpants. The fabric was soaked almost completely through with perspiration, dark spots maring the cloth.

She knew she needed to take the initiative, she could visibly see Korra staring, hands still shaking. Her heart clenched in her chest, she could only imagine how she would be feeling if Bolin was on this table in the engineers place. Even seeing her best friend in this state was taking a mental toll on the airbender.

“I’m going to take your shirt off, Sams,” Opal bent down to explain. Not waiting for a response that probably wasn’t going to come, she reached for the hem of the girls shirt and began cutting upward, followed by each sleeve. 

Korra took an audible breath and reached for the fabric, peeling it away from Asami’s soaked body. She could feel her cheeks heat up in embarrassment as she revealed the black lace bra underneath but she pushed any other feeling down deep.

Asami flopped her head to the side and moaned in pain even though they hadn’t moved her, another bout of coughing coming to the surface. 

“Shhhh...you’re ok...we have to take your clothes off to help you.” Korra said, wanting to brush back the damp hair from Asami’s face but knowing she couldn’t.

Opal reached for the leg of Asami’s pants and began delicately cutting up each one as Korra tried to calm Asami down. She hesitated slightly but, like Korra, began pulling away the fabric from long ivory legs.

Asami’s face contorted in pain and Opal’s own lip quivered thinking she partly caused it. 

Opal watched Asami’s shivers get exponentially worse, her teeth chattering, now that she was bare to the elements. “I’m sorry, Sams. I know you’re cold.” 

Opal looked over her shoulder to see that Kya looked about finished running water in the tub from the faucet and was now mixing something in a pestle. 

Suddenly the sound of Asami’s shivering stopped and her head lolled to the side. As quickly as the shivering stopped the girl's body began to shake again but this time differently.

Asami’s body began to convulse. Her limbs moved out of control, her back slamming against the table. It was like something had taken control of her body making it clench and twist violently. 

“...Asami!”

“Kya!” Opal screamed while watching her best friend's body move unnaturally.

Hearing the girls yell, Kya turned to them to find Asami in a Tonic-Clonic seizure. She hastily put the pestle down, turned off the faucet and rushed to their side. She quickly pulled a lever, flattening the bed.

"Quickly, turn her on her side!" Kya commanded as the three women worked together to roll the thrashing form to her side.

"She's having a seizure." Kya informed the two girls.

"A seizure? Help her! Make it stop!" Korra yelled at the healer. A million thoughts ran through her head, reducing her mind to a painful mess. The only way she knew that someone could have a seizure was a whack on the head.  _ Did Kya miss something yesterday? Did Tokuga hurt her?  _ Korra’s stomach flipped making her feel sick.  _ Please, please, please...this can’t be happening… _

“I know this is scary but we can’t move her until it’s over...” Kya informed the girls who both had tears flowing freely down their faces. Watching anyone have a seizure was always alarming, especially if that person is someone you love, it’s something you’ll never get used to, not even as a healer.

“We can’t just do nothing!” Korra said loudly as she ran her fingers through her own hair. 

“Talk to her...let her know you’re here...hopefully it will be over soon.” Kya wished she could offer the girls more comfort than that.

She watched as Korra bent down, putting her head as close as she could to Asami’s without touching her. “You’re ok…shhhhh….you’re ok, sweetheart...I’m right here...” Even though she had no way of knowing if she could hear her or not but she hoped she could. 

Kya rubbed small circles on Korra’s back as she watched Korra talk to her girlfriend. There wasn’t anything they could do but wait it out. This was a febrile seizure. The only way to help the young girl was to reduce her fever but they were unable to move forward until she stopped convulsing.

A lightbulb went off in Kya’s head... _ maybe they couldn’t put her in the pool but maybe there was another way to cool her down _ ...she looked to Open who had her arms wrapped around herself protectively, “Opal can you cool the air just around her? Cool the entire room if you have to.” 

Opal sniffled and nodded, not understanding how she was going to help but she would try.

“She’s having a seizure because her fever is so high...it’s too dangerous to move to the pool until this is over but we can try to cool her down in the meantime.” 

Opal gave Kya a look of determination and began to slowly reduce the air temperature around her friend's body with the smooth movements of her arms. She was going to be careful not to cause frostbite or anything but hopefully this would be enough to lower her fever a little. 

Kya ran her hand through the air currents to test the temperature. Now they just had to wait. 

“It’ll be over soon baby....we’re right here…you are so strong.” 

As Asami’s body continued to shake, time seemed to slow to a crawl as every tensing muscle fiber, every gasp for breath was torture.

Her skin was even paler now and against the paleness Kya noticed a line of blood start to seep out of the corner of Asami’s mouth. 

Korra’s face snapped to look at Kya. Before she could ask, Kya replied, “she bit her tongue.” Kya reached beside her to grab a square of gauze and gently wiped away the line of crimson as best as she could.

“She bit her tongue…” Korra repeated as if her brain was still trying to understand the information. 

Korra lowered her shoulders, her eyes glued to the horrific torture of Asami’s convulsing, unconscious body.

“Come on Sami...come back to me…” Korra whispered as she tried to will the shaking to stop - it seemed endless. 

At that very moment, Asami finally stopped shaking. Her body stilled, a welcome but unnerving juxtaposition to the seizing. 

All three girls sighed in collective relief when the convulsions stopped. Opal wiped her brow with the back of her hand. Even a few minutes of temperature manipulation takes significant effort from even the most skilled air benders. 

Kya immediately placed two of her fingers to Asami’s neck to feel for a pulse, she held her breath as if her own heart was waiting for a beat. She almost cried as she felt a rhythm beneath her fingers but it was fast and weak.

Her breathing came shallow and uneven.

“Korra, I’m going to need you to step into the pool for me...she’s been coughing too much to lay in there alone.” Kya looked at the young Avatar as she carefully rolled Asami back over onto her back. She reached her arms under the unconscious girls knees and back, pulling her patient up and into her arms. 

Korra nodded and stepped into the healing tub not even caring to take off her own clothing. She hissed at how cold the normally warm healing water was as she sunk down until the water was halfway up her chest, her back against the tub.

Opal had made her way to the opposite side of the pool to help. Kya bent down lowering Asami into Korra’s arms. Opal’s hand keeping Asami’s head from lolling backward in her arms.

Asami was finally settled into the pool with her entire body between Korra’s legs. Korra wrapped her arms under Asami’s bra covered breasts, pulling her upward and closer against herself, her head held just above the water. 

“Kya’s gonna help you feel better soon," Korra whispered softly with her head pushed up against Asami’s, as Opal knelt next to the tub. 

Kya settled into her healing stance and got to work.

Korra felt the familiar tingle along her body as Kya began pushing and pulling the current. Asami’s hot body temperature was a horrid contrast to the cool water moving around them.

“Why is this happening?” Korra said out loud more to the universe than anyone in particular.

Opal reached for Korra’s hand as it gripped around Asami’s middle, trying to offer as much support as she could. 

“She was fine when we went to bed, Opal, tired but fine. I woke up to her coughing earlier. I thought she might be sick but she shrugged it off and just wanted to go back to sleep...she promised she would see Kya in the morning. I just let her, I let her go back to sleep. Should I have taken her here sooner?” Korra talked through her emotions, trying to make sense of it all. She thought back to last night when she fell asleep with Asami in her arms.  _ Why couldn’t we have just cuddled all night...why did this have to happen? Why couldn’t the world just let them be happy? _

“You did nothing wrong Kor. You know Sams...if she has her mind set to something there‘s no changing it... you got her here...that’s all that matters,” Opal sighed as she laid her cheek on the side of the tub as she continued to hold Korra’s hand. 

“She’s been through a lot the last few days...”

* * *

As soon as Asami was secure in Korra’s arms she went into her waterbending healing stance, the same her mom taught her long ago. She began slowly moving her arms, flowing like the water she wished to bend, letting the rest of the room fall away. 

Contrary to popular belief water healing couldn’t cure sickness or injuries. Instead water healing could accelerate the body's own mechanisms and right now she was going to do everything in her power to do just that. 

First things first, she felt the heat emanating through the girl’s sickened body and she knew if she couldn’t bring down this fever things would go from bad to worse very quickly. 

Asami already suffered through one seizure and even though it was something more common in infants it wasn’t unheard of adults. If this symptom told her anything it was that her fever must have come on very rapidly but if we can get her temperature under control it would hopefully not happen a second time. She focused her chi energy on promoting the body’s mechanisms to cool itself that was held within the engineers brain. 

It was a delicate practice but most healers were skilled in fever reduction early on in their training and she was no exception.

It didn’t take long before she let out a small sigh of relief as she felt the girls internal temperature reduce. Asami was still feverish but she was most likely out of the danger zone of organ failure and that was the thing she was most worried about.

Next, she journeyed to the girl’s lungs. The sound of her labored breathing getting louder and louder in her ears the closer she got to them. Asami’s breathing sounded like she was drowning from the inside out. She peered deeper in the tissue, feeling for the tiny air sacs within her lungs that provid precious oxygen to the rest of her body. 

Asami’s lungs were filled with fluid.  _ How could she have pneumonia this quickly!? I just examined her yesterday afternoon. She had a perfect checkup. Spirits… _

She began making smaller movements with her hands to try to draw as much of the fluid together as she could.  _ I can help with this... _ pneumonia was one of the few illnesses a water bender could do more than just encourage healing but it wasn’t going to be pretty. 

As she worked to gather as much fluid as she could before moving onto the next, more abrasive step, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye _...I swear I just saw something move... _

A dark shadow in the distance. Getting closer she saw a strange black viscous substance, something she had never seen before. It was so strange and out of place it almost startled her out of her healing stance.  _ W-what is that?! _

After mentally composing herself she pushed forward to where it was in the lower lobe of Asami’s lung.  _ Whatever this stuff is…I need to get it out...I’ll pull it out with the rest. _

She made the same motions as before in an attempt to draw it toward the rest of the fluid but she couldn’t. Nothing happened.  _ What in the world? Why can’t I grab it? _

She knitted her eyebrows together in both frustration and concern as she pulled more deeply with the energies.

_ This is the same technique mom taught me for pneumonia...this looks like pneumonia...but it’s also different...bacteria, maybe? ...why can’t I move it...why isn’t it working? _

Her head started to ache behind her eyes and her arms were starting to feel heavy as if someone encased them in stone. This normally wouldn’t have worried her, it was a common sign of using too much of your chi as a healer and every healer was taught to recognize the signs of exhaustion.

_ How am I tired already?...I’ve healed people for hours on end…no way this little bit tired me out already... _

She took a deep breath, centering herself and attempted to get a hold of the fluid one last time. 

Nothing. It didn’t move at all.

She was frustrated but she knew she needed to finish. While it seemed she couldn’t get any closer to the black substance nor move it she could draw out some of the rest. She needed to ease Asami’s breathing as much as she could for the time being.  _ I’ll talk to mom tomorrow...she’ll know what to do.  _

She went back and gathered as much as she could. This technique was not easy and it’s going to be startling for everyone but it was a necessary evil right now. 

Korra and Opal looked at Kya who still had her arms raised and her eyes shut when her voice broke the silence, “I have to remove some of the fluid from her lungs. It is going to be scary but I promise it will be over as quickly as I can.”

Korra could only think of one way you could possibly get fluid out of someone’s lungs. Her memories brought her back to feeling Zaheer take the air out of her lungs to follow the fate of the Earth Queen.  _ Kya was going to do the same but with water bending _ … 

Korra tightened her hold in preparation.  _ Please be ok...please. _

Kya did a quick pulling motion with her arms and Asami’s head tipped backward unnaturally leaning back into Korra’s chest as the rest of her body went rigged.

Opal immediately reached forward and placed her hand on Asami’s chest to help hold her down against Korra. “Oh, spirits”

After a moment Asami’s mouth opened in what could only be described as an unconscious scream. A small stream of clear liquid flowed out of Asami’s mouth, Kya quickly bent into an orb and deposited it in a nearby sink.

Asami gasped and sputtered loudly as if she just broke through the surface after being underwater for too long. 

While the act may have brought her out of unconsciousness she was still incoherent and listless. Asami moaned and started to struggle in Korra’s arms. It was by far the loudest sound Kya had heard from the girl since this nightmare of a night started. It was a good sign but her movement was making everything more difficult. 

“Girls, try to calm her down. I need her still...I'm almost finished,” Kya said, breaking from her concentration for a moment.

“Shhhhh, you’re ok....you’re doing so good...it's almost over,” Korra said in a soothing voice. Asami lessened her struggling but her eyebrows stayed furrowed together.

Kya knew she needed to work quickly with how little chi she felt she had left. 

Kya did one last look around to see if she could have missed anything using the ABC’s her mom taught her. Airway was ok. Breathing was as good as she could get it for now with her bending until she consulted with her mom over the radio. Circulation was fine...her heart was still a bit fast but it would be with a fever. Lastly, all of the rest of her organs looked good except her lungs that were raw but that would have to be soothed with medicine. 

Confident they were out of the woods for now she slowed down her currents, the blue glow dispelling as she pulled back and finally lowered her now shaking arms. She took a step backwards and slumped into a nearby chair. 

She was exhausted. Healing was never easy but she felt unnaturally drained.  _ What was that...Why does it feel like I used up most of my chi to do so little...I have to talk to mom about this...something’s not right...I just hope I’ve done enough for her for now. _

As Kya tried to catch her own breath she watched Korra hold her girlfriend securely in her arms and Opal continued holding her hand still on her chest. She could see their aura’s reaching out for Asami and it almost made her cry. 

To everyone’s surprise green eyes fluttered open. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think =)


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